Her stare sharpened, and I realized she wasn’t the piece of fluff she pretended to be. “Boys will be boys,” she murmured. “They do like their adventure. Brent’s been prowling those woods since he was a kid.”
Prowling. Pretty interesting word choice.
“Hunting, huh?” Again, my dad seemed casual. I knew he wasn’t.
So did Mrs. Peters. Her plump lips pressed together, and she grabbed Brent’s hand. They stalked out, and this time, neither glanced back.
I sidled close to my dad. “Do you think it was him?” My dad hadn’t given me a straight answer before, and I had to know. His instincts were usually dead-on.
Surprisingly, he shook his head. “No.”
Good but, “Why not?”
He pulled me into his office and shut the door. The better for others not to hear us. “Because he was in human form when he found him.”
Human form, with blood on his hands.
“Why switch?” My dad demanded. “Why not just finish the job and kill her?” He shook his head. “No, he’s not the one we’re looking for. Another wolf is hunting out there, and I will stop him.”
***
Deputy Jon took me back to the house. My dad went to the hospital to see about Helen, and he sent his guard dog to make sure I got home safely.
Jon even came inside the house and did a full sweep. He was kind of sweet about it. Sweet in his pushy, deputy way.
“All clear, Anna.” He held his hat in his tan hands. “Your dad will be back soon. Until he gets here, I’ll stay outside and keep an eye on the place.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do.” He gave me a thin smile, one that showed his super white teeth. “Boss’s orders.”
Well, I wasn’t going to argue with him. I’d seen too much blood lately to argue. I walked him out and locked the door.
I took a deep breath. Another. And I still saw Helen’s bloody body.
Dammit. I hurried into the kitchen. I needed to get a grip. I couldn’t fall apart now. I couldn’t—
Arms came up and yanked me back against a strong body. I opened my mouth to scream for Deputy Jon, but a hand covered my mouth.
“Easy.” A harsh, male whisper. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Brent’s voice.
I didn’t believe him.
“I can’t have you yelling for the deputy. The guy would come in with guns blazing.” His breath blew lightly against my ear. “Anna, relax, I promise I’m not here to hurt you.”
Said the guy with his hand over my mouth.
And how had the deputy missed him during the sweep? Where had the guy been hiding?
“I need to talk to you. Hell, you’re the only reason I was in the woods tonight.”
My knees locked.
“Please, Anna, just give me a chance to explain.” His sigh filled my ears. “I’ll move hand and just…don’t scream, okay?”
I wasn’t making any promises. Not like I could anyway, not until he moved that hand.
His hand lifted, and he turned me to face him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” His eyes, intent and hard, held mine.
“Then next time don’t grab me in the dark!” I glared at him as my heart raced. “How’d you get in here?”
“I picked the lock on the back door.”
I hadn’t expected that answer.
He licked his lips. “I was watching from the woods. I waited until Jon went back out.”
“Then you came in.” Goosebumps rose on my arms. I tried to play it cool, but I was starting to sweat. Brent was a big guy, and I knew he was one hell of a lot stronger than me. “What do you want, Brent?”
He hesitated. “You know, don’t you?”
“Know?” I could pretend I didn’t. Maybe that would be the safer, smarter choice. But I could tell by the expression in his eyes that Brent sensed the truth. My breath exhaled in a slow rush, and my heart did not slow down a bit as I said, “You mean do I know that you can get all furry and fanged when you run in the woods?”
He flinched. “It’s not a joke, Anna. You think I want to be like this?”
No, no, I didn’t think that he did.
I also didn’t think I wanted to be alone in the house with him. Not when I’d seen all that blood on his hands earlier. “Why were you in the woods tonight?” I stepped away from him, a nice, big step.
His jaw hardened. “I was coming to see you.”
I couldn’t decide if that made me feel better or worse. “You and Rafe.” I shook my head. “You two sure tore into each other on the field.”
“I knew the jerk had told you about me.” When his lips parted, I could see the edge of his fangs. Actual fangs. That could not be a good sign. My hands slid behind me on the counter as I tried to find a weapon. If I screamed for Deputy Jon, would he have time to get inside the kitchen before Brent could slice open my throat?